Draft-evener.



No. 862,394. PATENTED AUG. 6, 1907. P. G. HAUBOLD.

DRAFT EVENER. APPLICATION FILED H.126, 1907 W lT NEfiifi 6 E 67% 1 Y ATT'Y.

PAUL G. IIAUBOLD, CAMPBELL, NEBRASKA.

DRAFT-EVENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 6, 1907.

Application filed January 25, 1907. Serial No. 353,993.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL O. HAUBOLD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Campbell, in the county of Franklin and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Eveners, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to draft gear for vehicles drawn by horses and especially to that class of devices designed to equalize the draft when a number of animals are attached to the same load and commonly designated eveners.

The object of.my invention is to provide means for equalizing the leverage when a double team is hitched to a wagon or other vehicle, one span being attached to the load in front of the other in the ordinary manner.

In the usual method of harnessing a double span of horses to a wagon the custom is to provide two doubletrees,'one for each span and attach each doubletree separately to the load. Thus one doubletree will be secured to the tongue in the ordinary way, and the other fastened to the end of the tongue, either directly by a clevis or by interposing a chain of variable length, the latter being sometimes carried along the tongue and attached near the wagon. The disadvantage of this method of hitching two teams is that each team makes traction entirely independently of the other, and when one team slackens the entire load is thrown upon the other. In order to avoid this inequality when the teams are so arranged, I provide a series of compound levers connected by links and rods and attach the ordinary swingletrees thereto.

1 have shown my improved device adapted to be attached to an ordinary wagon and to accommodate four horses arranged. in pairs but the appliance is equally applicable to other vehicles or wherever heavy traction is needed and may be arranged with equal efiicacy for the attachment of three horses and I do not wish, therefore, to be limited in its application to the precise details set forth.

In the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specification the figure represents my invention adapted to be attached to a wagon tongue or other traction means.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates a doubletree provided with a hole 2 for engagement with the usual draw bolt of a wagon tongue. At each end of said doubletree is located an intermediate cross bar 3 secured to the doubletree 1 by a clevis 4. At the outer ends of the cross bars are links 5 which connect the cross bars with swingletrees 6, provided with the usual tug hooks 7. To the inner ends of the cross bars 3 are attached long link rods 8 which extend approximately the length of an ordinary wagon tongue and are secured to the ends of a swivel bar 9. A link rod 10 is attached at one end to the middle of said swivel bar 9 by a clevis 11 and at the other to a doubletree 12 by a clevis 13. The link rod 10 is given a single turn near the middle to form an eye 14 to which is attached a hook 15 designed to engage the end of the tongue or link of a traction chain. This hook will be found of great advantage in supporting the appliance when a traction chain is employed, and whether attached to a tongue or chain it will serve a useful purpose in preventing lateral displacement of the swivel bar through erratic movements of the draft animals, the said hook having a sufiiciently loose attachment to the eye 14 to permit of whatever freedom of motion is necessary. The front doubletree bar 12 is supplied with the usual swingletrees 6 to which the front team is attached in the ordinary manner, and upon each side of the link rods 8 are placed the rear horses.

It will be readily understood that by the arrangement thus illustrated neither team can pull independently of the other and the traction of each individual horse will be effected by that of every other in the double team, thus attaining the desired result.

Having thus described my invention I claim In a draft equalizer, the combination of a pair of double trees arranged tandem, cross bars attached to the rear doubletree, the attachment being off center so that the longer arms will project outwardly, swingletrees attached to said longer arms, a swivel bar connected by link rods to the shorter arms, flexible connection between said swivelbar and the forward doubletree, and a hook flexibly attached to said connection.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PAUL C. HAUBOLD.

Witnesses CLYDE L. NEISWANGER, L. BOURDEAU. 

